To quote a friend, doin' better than I deserve

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You Make My Heart Smile

I’m learning things from an intelligent and candid young woman. She is amazingly beautiful to look at, untarnished, unconscious of how truly stunning she is. Yet what I continue to observe is how radiant she is—how exquisite she is on the inside. And she’s so young!! Not yet battered by what the world will send her way, she is already so wise and so caring.

What I have learned from her most recently is the vision she has. The discernment. She looks at a large, lumbering, sometimes silly young man and sees so much promise, so much capability—and truly her knight in shining armor. He is a brilliantly independent thinker, ready with his opinions, outspoken, yet wise beyond his years—so she’s not mistaken. Just very young to have spotted this ambitious young soul and know without a shadow of a doubt that he’s the man for her. I’ve loved seeing how her growing love for him has completely grounded him. What an impact—and I don’t believe she knows that her love for him is the catalyst.

Let me share with you a few comments she has made about him:

They met a couple of years ago, during high school. And only a few months into their relationship, she listed this poem beside his photo: “Say farewell to the dark night, I see the coming of the sun. I feel like a little child whose life has just begun, you came and breathed new life into this lonely heart of mine” (Back at One, by Brian McKnight)

Then a few months later: “When a girl is in love you can see it in her smile. When a guy is in love you can see it in his eyes.” If you could see the photo she posted with this comment, you would totally understand.

She has been through all sorts of escapades with him, some adventurous, some calamitous and yet she comes up with this statement that’s way beyond her years: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

Her continual gratitude for him and what he means to her is a gift in itself: “You make my heart smile.”

What a sweet, sweet spirit to see him as a gift for her: “I must have done something right, to have you in my life.”

Beside a photo of the two of them relaxed, laid back and laughing themselves silly is the wise-beyond-her-years admission: “Thank God I’ve finally found someone I can be my completely stupid self with and we still enjoy every second of it.”

And when he was trying to help her in an awkward private moment: “Every girl deserves a guy who looks at her everyday like it’s the first time he saw her.”

This young woman will never have to fear her man being miles away and tempted by anyone: “It’s not every day that you find someone who can put up with your bullshit. Hold on to them with all you have.”

And ultimately a worldly wise woman who knows how to tempt, how to entice, how to endear and “keep” (for lack of a better word) a man’s interest: “A legal kiss is never as good as a stolen one.”

I wanted to share this portrait of a shrewd and truly perceptive woman’s approach to her relationship and her future in hopes that it will inspire you to do the same. This world has sometimes fostered a lack of integrity; it encourages lassitude and an almost anarchist attitude toward life. Yet I’ve learned that she is living proof that somewhere out there is another person who is meant to complete you; who will improve you just by being aware that you exist.